radar.” His light eyes focused on me. “Do any of your Pack members have marksmanship training?”
The image of Sasha and all of her concealed holsters filled my head. “We do, and if she gets a clear shot, she’ll take it.”
“Fair enough, but only if my negotiations fail.”
Adam nodded, and Miller continued. “Then I’ll leave you two to put together your team and decide on the location for the operation. This is your territory. In the meantime, I’ll keep trying to make contact with Fonthill on my own.” He handed my brother a no-nonsense government-issue business card. “My contact numbers are listed here. I’ll expect to hear from you by tomorrow morning.”
I raised a brow. “That only gives us a few hours to get this together.”
“Hopefully that’s soon enough to keep him from harming more innocents. Every hour is crucial.” He walked around to the passenger door of the Hummer and stopped. “I am sorry to hear about Malcolm.” He glanced over his shoulder at us. “He was obviously a good father.”
“The best,” I said without hesitation.
He paused a moment, and I thought he was going to say something, but he shook his head and climbed into the vehicle with his driver. Adam and I took the pad and walked back toward the house. The tinted window lowered as the Hummer drove away. The general gave us a single salute, then he was gone.
Inside, Adam and I kept writing down ideas and scratching them out again. There was one plan that seemed viable, but it was risky. I closed my eyes and scrubbed my hand down my face. Sasha was never going to go for it.
“There has to be another way. We can’t dangle Nadya out in front of this freak.”
“I don’t like it either.” Adam leaned against the table. “But he won’t fall for you and Sasha walking around downtown again. We’ve given him chances, and he hasn’t shown himself.”
I set the pen down and crossed my arms over my chest. “If Nadya agrees to this, how are we going to keep her safe? Not that it really matters because Sasha is never going to agree to use her little sister as bait.”
“I’d love to hear a better idea, bro.” Adam glanced out the window toward the barn. “This is probably the only way to stop this guy before he exposes all of us.”
“Fuck.” I got up from the table, stretching my legs. “You really think we can trust Miller?”
Adam sighed, staring down at his boots, then raised his eyes to meet mine. “You remember how Dad used to just know things? How he could look at us and know if we were hiding something?”
I nodded.
“Well since I became the Alpha, I wish I could explain it, but I know things, too. Not like reading minds or anything, just a hunch that seems so real… I’m learning to let go and trust my instincts. Miller’s not being completely honest with us, but he had no idea Nero ambushed us. That part was true. The way I see it, we can move forward with this plan and if it turns out I’m wrong about the general, we’ll be in position to take Fonthill down ourselves anyway.”
I stared at my brother for a moment, wondering how my act-first-think-later brother had morphed into our Alpha so seamlessly. If we had more time I might’ve even told him I was proud of him. But right now time was a luxury.
“I’ll work on Sasha, and you pick the team to come with us.” I opened the door and glanced back at my brother again. “Don’t talk to Nadya about this yet, okay? Sasha should ask her. I don’t want Nadya to agree to this without understanding the risks.”
“You got it.” He came around, and we clasped forearms. Adam shook his head and took a step back. “Was it just me or was it creepy to see Miller show up here? I always figured Dad’s twin had died.”
“None of the Pack elders ever mentioned him either.”
Adam shrugged. “Maybe Dad told them not to tell us.”
Wyatt—Jared and Jason’s father—and Nick—Luke and Logan’s dad—had both grown up in the same Pack as Malcolm, but neither of them discussed the past much. Until Adam told me about our father’s brief experience with Nero and Operation Moonlight, I never thought about any of them belonging to another Pack as kids. I guess I didn’t think it mattered.
That was all changing now.
The past just showed up on our doorstep.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The streets and hotels blurred together as I rode in the taxi to the hotel. My brain was busy, too busy, and I struggled to wrestle my thoughts back in check. With Fonthill showing signs of a violent mental breakdown, I needed to be focused and ready, not riding a rollercoaster of emotions.
Even though Sebastian wouldn’t—or couldn’t—give me confirmation that Nero had ordered the hit on my parents, my gut told me I was right. And when Severino’s plan to take custody of Nadya hadn’t worked out, he’d bided his time until her name and new address surfaced on college apps. The man was anything but stupid, and he didn’t rely on luck.
He made his own.
The cab stopped in front of the hotel, and I scanned the area for any sign of Fonthill before paying my fare and getting out of the car. Fonthill had jumped Sebastian at his hotel only a few hours ago—he could be anywhere.
Inside, the flashing lights and constant ringing chimes signaling winners drowned out my thought process. It was a welcome break. Between discovering a link between Nero and my sister, and Aren planting the seed that maybe I could work again in Reno, my mind whirled with all the possibilities.
After being bitten, I thought of myself as a monster. Any plans for the future had been narrowed to finding an antidote for my condition. Until Aren, it never occurred to me that being converted to a jaguar gave me abilities that could make me a better cop. I was so busy wallowing in anger and betrayal that I almost killed him in an effort to get my old life back.
Now I’d never get a new one if I didn’t get rid of Fonthill before he got me.
I needed to center myself.
Once I got inside the room, I tossed my purse on the chair and cranked up the thermostat. After a change of clothes, I laid a big towel out on the floor, I got on my knees and took a few deep breaths.
It felt good to focus on breathing instead of my future. At least I could control my breathing.
One posture moved into the next, and as the sweat rolled down my body I realized my mind was finally quiet. I got on my knees, my hands in prayer position, and I leaned forward until my forehead brushed against the towel, blood rushing to my head. Taking a few slow, deep breaths through my nose, I lifted myself up again. I closed my eyes for a moment waiting for the dizzying buzz in my head to die down.
When I focused forward, I almost smiled. Maybe I could have a future. Maybe the wolves had the right idea.
I wasn’t at the mercy of the phases of the moon.
I was enhanced by them.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I slid my hotel key card through the lock and walked into a wall of tropic heat and humidity that made me smile. Sasha’s scent hung heavy in the air, and I could hear humming from the bathroom. I dialed the thermostat down from ninety-five degrees and bent to scoop up her towel from the floor. It felt good to come back to her. This wasn’t my home, but finding her here made it seem like it.
I tapped on the bathroom door. “Honey, I’m home.”
